Friday, 7th August
Hello again! We had a great last night in Queenstown. After going for some cocktails in the Minus 5 ice bar, we got the skyline gondola/cable car up the side of a mountain with spectacular views over the lovely Queenstown. We gorged on the most beautiful buffet dinner in the restaurant at the top – by far the best meal we’ve had on our travels – and afterwards were treated to a Maori Haka show. It was a fab night all in all.
The next morning we said goodbye to Queenstown (and to the smelly hostel thank God!) and we jumped on a bus up to Franz Josef Glacier. On route, we drove through Mt. Aspiring National Park, stopping for photo shoots at Thunder Creek Falls and Knights Point. We got to see a lot of that beautiful scenery that New Zealand is famous for – snow capped mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes and forests. Spectacular!
photo credit: Bournagain
So, we landed in the tiny town of Franz Josef Glacier and checked into the nice, cosy hostel – back to the old reliable YHA’s. Today we did the most fantastic helihike trip up on to Franz Josef Glacier. We were blessed to get up there, as the trip had been cancelled for over a week due to weather conditions. So thank God, the sun was shining when we boarded our helicopter which took us on quite a smooth ride up onto the glacier. Spent 2 hours hiking across the ice, through caves and tunnels. It was amazing! A little scary in parts, especially when one of the guys in our group fell through the ice chest deep! My heart! I thought he was a goner! We made it back to base anyway with no more incidents. It was well worth it – a brilliant trip.
photo credit: AdamSelwood
We’re heading for Nelson tommorrow via the pancake rocks – around a 10 hour trip, but we figured we’d motor on a bit up North. So, until next time, thanks for reading…
